There’s an important discovery for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
If you have OCD, you might face a higher chance of dying earlier than those who don’t have this condition. This risk increase is about 82%.
OCD is a condition affecting around 2% of people. Those with OCD often struggle with unwanted and repeated thoughts. These could be fears about getting dirty or hurting someone.
To deal with these thoughts, they might do certain actions over and over, like cleaning, checking things, or repeating words.
These actions and thoughts can really interfere with everyday life, making it hard to have relationships, do social activities, or just get through the day.
In the past, research showed that people with OCD often died earlier, but it wasn’t clear why. Suicide rates were known to be high, just like in other mental health conditions, but other causes weren’t well-understood.
In a new study, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden decided to dig deeper. They used records from the whole population of Sweden. They compared 61,378 people diagnosed with OCD to 613,780 people without it.
The team kept track of these groups for over 40 years, from 1973 to 2020. What they found was striking: people with OCD generally died younger (at 69 years old) compared to those without OCD (who lived to 78 on average).
The chance of dying during tge study was much higher for those with OCD. This included both natural and unnatural causes. For natural causes, the risk was 31% higher. For unnatural causes, like accidents or suicide, it was a whopping 230% higher.
For the first time, the researchers identified certain natural causes.
People with OCD were more likely to die from lung diseases, mental and behavioral issues, problems with the urinary and reproductive organs, and diseases related to hormones, nutrition, blood vessels, the nervous system, and the digestive system.
Interestingly, the risk of dying from cancer was actually 13% lower in people with OCD.
Suicide was a major factor in the higher death rates for unnatural causes. People with OCD were nearly five times more likely to die by suicide. They also faced a higher risk of dying in accidents, like car crashes or falls.
These findings were still valid even after considering other mental health issues like anxiety, depression, or substance use. The team also compared the people with OCD to their siblings who didn’t have OCD.
The results were pretty much the same, showing that these risks are likely due to OCD itself, not just because of shared family traits or other mental health problems.
In summary, this study sheds light on the serious risks faced by people with OCD. It highlights the need for better care and attention to this often misunderstood condition.
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The research findings can be found in BMJ.
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